Can strip remover



N 1955 R. w. REEVES CAN STRIP REMOVER Filed May 12, 1955 I and?! IRobe/f W Reeves United States Patent CAN STRIP REMOVER Robert W. Reeves,Allendale, S. C.

Application May 12, 1953, Serial No. 354,485

1 Claim. (Cl. 220-52) This invention relates to new and usefulimprovements in can opening devices and more particularly to an openerfor cans having tops retained on the can bodies by removable strips.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a can stripremover that will ride about the periphery of a can and which includes akey that is rotated to wind 21 can strip thereabout, the key beingretracted to release the wound strip therefrom.

Another important object of the present invention is to provide a canstrip remover including a guide having an opening into which the slottedend of a key may be moved or retracted so that a strip wound about theslotted end of the key will be removed therefrom as the slotted end isretracted from the opening.

A further object of the present invention'is to provide a can stripremoved of the aforementioned character including a leaf springengageable with the key to selectively retain the slotted end of the keyin or out of the opening in the guide.

A still further aim of the present invention is to provide a can stripremover that is simple and practical in construction, strong andreliable in use, small and compact in construction, neat and attractivein appearance, eflicient and reliable in use, inexpensive tomanufacture, and otherwise well adapted for the purposes for which thesame is intended.

These together with other objects and advantages which will becomesubsequently apparent reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, whereinlike numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of the invention in use;

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view takensubstantially on the plane of section line 22 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a horizontal sectional view taken substantially on the planeof section line 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the present invention; and

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 2 but showing the invention removedfrom the can and the key retracted to release the strip.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, wherein for the purpose ofillustration, there is disclosed a preferred embodiment of the presentinvention, the numeral represents a guide member having a substantiallyrectangular lower portion 12 that is provided with an opening 14 andupper and lower horizontal parts 16 and 18.

Guide member 10 also includes a substantially L- shaped membercomprising a vertical flange 20 and a horizontal flange 22. Thehorizontal flange 22 overlies the lower portion 12 and is provided withan aperture 24 that registers with registering apertures 26 and 28 inthe parts 16 and 18.

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The shank portion 30 of a key 32 is slidably and rotatably positioned inthe apertures 24, 26 and 28. The lower bifurcated or slotted end 34 ofshank portion 30 extends through the opening 14 and into aperture 28when the key 32 is in use and may be retracted from aperture 28 andopening 14.

One end of a leaf spring 36 is fixed by welding or the like to flange 20under flange 22. The spring 36 yieldingly engages the shank portion 30to maintain the key retracted and will slip over a shoulder lug 38 fixedto shank portion 30 when said key is returned to operative position inopening 14. A second shoulder lug 40 is fixed on shank portion 30 aboveflange 22 and will abut flange 22 to limit downward sliding movement ofthe key.

A prying element 42 is fixed to or integrally formed with one end ofguide member 12. This prying element is provided with a beveled edge 43that is used for bending the free end portion E of a can tear strip Soutwardly so that the free end portion of the strip may be engaged inthe slot of end 34.

In practical use of the present invention, the end portion E of strip Sis engaged in the slot of the key end 34 and member 10 is placed againstthe outer periphery of the can C. The key 32 is lowered to its operativeposition with spring 36 engaged over shoulder element 38. Then the keyis rotated to wind the strip S thereon as the guide lugs 44 and 46 onparts 16 and 18 of member 10 travel about the periphery of the can.After the strip S is completely wound on key end 34, spring 36 isdepressed and the key raised, as shown in Figure 5, and the guide member10 is tilted so that the strip will engage part 16 to be released fromend 34 and the strip S will pass from opening 14.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

A can strip remover comprising a guide member in cluding a substantiallyrectangular lower portion having an opening and an L-shaped upperportion, said upper portion being provided with a horizontal flangeoverlying said lower portion, said horizontal flange having an aperture,said lower portion having an upper part and a lower part each providedwith an aperture in registry with the aperture in said horizontalflange, a key including a shank portion slidably and rotatably engagedin said apertures, the shank portion having a bifurcated lower enddisposed in said opening to engage one end of a can strip, and said keybeing raised to retract the bifurcated end from the opening whereupon astrip wound about said bifurcated end will engage the upper part to bereleased from the key, means carried by said member restricting slidingmovement of said key and selectively retaining the bifurcated end in andout of the opening, wherein said means comprises a leaf spring fixed atone end to the vertical flange of said upper portion, and a shoulderelement fixed to said shank portion over said bifurcated end and engagedunder the spring when the bifurcated end is disposed in said opening.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,199,790 Holcomb Oct. 3, 1916 1,669,247 Johnson May 8, 1928 2,140,151Dazey Dec. 13, 1938 2,370,081 Sebell Feb. 20, 1945 2,572,820 SchluterOct. 23, 1951 2,578,379 Taylor Dec. 11, 1951 2,612,287 Snook Sept. 30,1952 2,649,990 Lyle Aug. 25, 1953

